“Miscellaneous”

***** (K|C|F) *****

T H E S E C T I O N

Includes: 1)Re-badging; 2)Snippets; 3)Quirky Names; 4)Timeline

#########################

[ Re-badging / Badge Engineering]

Rebadging sometimes called badge engineering is endemic in Japan, no more so than with kei-cars, especially the later one’s. It applies when alterations are made to a manufacturers badge, logo or manufacturers name / marque to an existing product and then subsequently marketing the variant as a distinct product.

Due to the high cost of designing and engineering a new model or establishing a brand, which may take many years to gain acceptance, it is much less expensive to rebadge a product than create one. The costs of product development and manufacturing tools are therefore spread over more vehicles, resulting in greater economies of scale.

The term originated with the practise of replacing an automobile’s emblem or badge in order to create a new model. Besides badges and emblems, minor styling differences can occur such as differences to head and tail lights, front and rear fascias, and outer body skins. More extreme examples often involve using different engines and drive trains. There is currently a fad for replacing standard body panels with stylish retro designs, particularly the front ends.

[ TheKei – Timeline]

( The Timeline is a chronological list of facts & news items as they occurred. )

2016June: Daihatsu becomes a totally owned subsidiary of Toyota.

2016May: The resignation of Mitsubishi Motor Corporation ( MMC ) President Tetsuro Aikawa was announced and Nissan acquired a controlling interest in MMC. It now hoped to draw a line under the fuel scandal of 2006.

2015April 2nd: Suzuki is recalling two million vehicles across the globe, because the ignition switches may begin to smoke. This recall is limited to the Japanese, European and Australian markets. Affected vehicles were built between 1998 and 2009. There have been no reports of injuries or accidents due to the 67 reported incidents, all of which come from the Japanese market.

2015May 30th : Honda rolls out production of the S660 Roadster in Japan. The new S660 adopts the same 660cc inline-3, but spins it around to mount it amidships and adds a turbocharger. It’s got a roll-up canvas roof and a 2-tone cabin that gives driver and passenger seats of different shades. 45/55 front-rear weight distribution promises to keep it fun but friendly, with brake based torque vectoring to keep it all under control.

2012April 6th: The Daihatsu Copen, Japan’s last kei convertible is ending production. After 10 years of production, there just aren’t enough orders coming in to justify its continued production.

2011April 14th: 50.6% of households in Japan now own a kei-car. For the first time since 1986, more than 50% of households in Japan own at least one kei category vehicle. The Japan Mini Vehicles Association (JMVA) began tracking the mini vehicles back in 1986, and this is the highest level of ownership ever. Long may it continue.

2011: Toyota launched its first minicar, the Pixis Space, which is a rebadged Daihatsu Move.

2006: Mitsubishi partner Nissan found discrepancies between Mitsubishi information and actual fuel consumption figures while working on new kei-cars for both companies, most notably the eK Wagon, eK Space, Nissan Dayz and Nissan Dayz Roox. Mitsubishi management blamed the kei-car development department and after further investigation found out that this had been going on for the past 25 years and not since 2002 as previously thought.

1955May: The Ministry of International Trade and Industry ( MITI ) announces a promotional program called the ‘People’s Car‘ Their executive summary of the foreseen car was described as, ‘A 4-seater with a top speed of 100 kph, priced at ¥150,000 ( £1,145 ).